ISSN: 2581-8651 Vol-4, Issue-3, May-Jun 2022 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/jhed.4.3.29 Peer-Reviewed Journal
Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED)
What is ZPD and what are the implications of ZPD for teaching? Di Wang School of Foreign Studies of Yangtze University, Hubei, China. Received: 03 Jun 2022; Received in revised form: 20 Jun 2022; Accepted: 26 Jun 2022 ©2022 The Author(s). Published by TheShillonga. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Abstract Sociocultural theory was established by Vygotsky, and it analyzes the social and cultural attributes of the development mechanism of human psychological function based on the view of development and history (Xi, 2020). Vygotsky divided human psychological function into low-level psychological function as the result of biological evolution and high-level psychological function formed by the development of social culture and history. Focusing on the development of high-level psychological function of individuals, Vygotsky put forward three core concepts: internalization, mediation and zone of proximal development (ZPD). In this article, one of the core concepts, ZPD, will be discussed. Keywords— ZPD, teaching, social culture and history. I.
WHAT IS ZPD?
perspective of conceptualization, “i+1” refers to passive
In 1930s, Vygotsky first put forward the concept of
input while ZPD emphasizes on collaborative activities.
ZPD (The Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD) in the field
Besides, there are fundamental differences between ZPD
of child psychology, which refers to “the distance between
and “i+1” on the basis of philosophy. ZPD holds that the
the
by
development of human advanced psychological function
independent problem solving and the level of potential
originates from the interaction between individuals and
development as determined through problem solving under
others and tools in social communication activities; “I + 1”
adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”
belongs to metaphysics, which holds that development itself
(Vygotsky, 1978). He believes that there are two levels of
is spontaneously produced by learners. Furthermore, in
students’ development: one is the existing level of students,
terms of process, “i+1” emphasizes the process of language
which refers to the level of problem-solving that can be
acquisition, but ZPD refers to collaboration to accomplish a
achieved when acting independently; the other is the
specific task. “I+1” focuses on language and hypothesizes
possible development level of students, that is, the potential
that every language learner has the same language
obtained through teaching. The difference between the two
acquisition device. The “I” and “1” in “I+1” theory are
levels is called ZPD.
abstract and cannot be predicted (Xi, 2020). As for ZPD,
actual
developmental level
as determined
since it is based on the collaborative activities between the II.
IS IT SAME AS THE “I+1” THEORY?
Gifford & Mullaney analogized the “ZPD” to “I + 1”
learners and the experts, the learners’ ability can be expected individually.
theory, and described an educational example of interaction between learners (Wen, 2019). However, these two concepts
III.
IS IT SAME AS THE “SCAFFOLDING”?
have been proved to be different by more examples
In the past, I used to classify the concept of
(Schinke-Llano, 1993; de Guerrero, 1996; Dunn & Lantolf,
“scaffolding” under the sociocultural theory, because
1998; Thorne, 2000; quoted from Wen, 2019). From the
scaffolding and the ZPD more or less reflect the same
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Journal of Humanities and Education Development (JHED) 4(3)-2022
process. Scaffolding is derived from an architectural
natural phenomenon, it comes from the individual’s
metaphor. The ZPD is grounded in an agricultural metaphor
adaptation to social culture (Quoted from Chen, 2015).
in which the buds and flowers of fruit-bearing trees mature
Therefore, construction is difficult to become a pure
as they are tended by growers. The two concepts are very
individual behavior. The process of learning can be regarded
different metaphors. Xi & Lantolf (2020) pointed out that
as a meaningful social negotiation between mature and
scaffolding was limited to face-to-face interaction, failed to
immature individuals using cultural tools. ZPD is a
take full account of context, and features task fluency and
framework for integrating individuals and society, and it is
independent performance as its goal, while the ZPD
also a social psychological space for leaners to connect with
encompassed face-to-face interaction but also extended to
others, which is an appropriate place for education.
domains such as play and even interaction with texts, was
4.3 Dynamic Assessment
clearly focused on development over task fluency, and saw
In ZPD, children’s ability is divided into actual ability
context as a crucial factor in shaping development.
and potential ability, and the latter more determines the achievements that individuals can achieve in future learning.
IV.
IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE
Nevertheless, potential ability cannot be displayed
TEACHING
independently. Therefore, the measurement of potential
The “development” in the concept of ZPD means
ability should pay attention to the process and provide
changes in psychological structure rather than the progress
necessary help so that the potential ability can be reflected.
in knowledge and skills (Chen, 2015). It is essential for
A completed assessment should include actual ability and
educators to understand that the progress in knowledge and
potential ability evaluation. As language teachers, we
skills is surface development. Learning knowledge and
should shift from focusing only on the actual ability of
skills is the way to change psychological structure. Only
individuals to paying attention to both actual ability and
with the change of psychological structure can individuals
potential ability, and from focusing only on the results of
achieve real development (Zhong, 2018). So, the language
learning to paying attention to the results and process of
teachers are expected to figure out ways to trigger students’
learning at the same time, which is helpful to improve the
motivation so that they can internalized knowledge to
comprehensiveness of evaluation.
change the psychological structure. 4.1 Transformation of teaching paradigm
4.4 The relation between teaching and learning Teaching should proceed development, but where is
The traditional teaching paradigm has always been
the boundary between teaching and development? What
teacher-centered, one-way “transmitting” the intensive
level of teaching is appropriate in ZPD? Although we’ve
knowledge of textbooks to students, while students “acquire”
discussed that scaffolding should not be included in
knowledge by remembering the knowledge. However, the
sociocultural theory, I believe that it may be a useful method
new teaching paradigm is that the work of teachers is to
for language teachers to find out the dividing line. Aljaafreh
design the scaffolding for group activities. In this class,
& Lantolf put forward the “regulatory scale”, that is, at the
students construct knowledge in interaction (Zhong, 2018).
beginning, teachers give the most implicit feedback, but if
Teachers do not completely control the classroom. It can be
learners do not respond, gradually provide learners with
said that teachers actively participate in learners’ learning
more explicit feedback until they correct their mistakes
activities and encourage students to form learning by
(Quoted from Wen, 2019).
themselves. The role of teachers in the new teaching paradigm should be regarded as facilitators. 4.2 Learning is a process of meaningful social negotiation
In general, it is important for language teachers to pay more attention to students’ development. As we know that, teachers should individualize the teaching approach to each person’s aptitude, personality and interest. Meanwhile,
“Society” and “construction” are the ideological core
teachers should also realize that the process is dynamic.
of the zone of proximal development theory. Vygotsky
Students’ aptitude is constantly changing, and ZPD will
believes that the psychological process is not a purely
change accordingly. Teaching takes precedence over
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students’ development, which is an effective teaching method. REFERENCES [1] Xi, J. (2020). Sociocultural theory and second language acquisition—theory, method and practice. Foreign Language World. [2] Wen, Q. F. (2019). Major issues in second language acquisition. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [3] Zhong, Q. Q. (2018). ZPD: the theoretical basis of classroom transformation. Global Education. [4] Chen, J. (2015). An in-depth interpretation of the value of theoretical education in ZPD. Journal of Teaching and Management. [5] Xi, J., James P. Lantolf. (2020). Scaffolding and the zone of proximal development: A problematic relationship. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior. [6] Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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